


Rook (Harry Potter AU)

by Irasantu



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-07-11 23:01:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19935940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irasantu/pseuds/Irasantu
Summary: A young American witch witnesses a horrible crime, after testifying she is placed in witness protection and along with her sister brought to the UK.  Everyone wants to tell them what to do. Read about how they survive this and other challenges.





	1. Court and then Deciding the Future

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my friends, thank you for taking the time to read this story. It has been floating around my head for a while and I felt like this would be the platform to share it. It has been a while since I've shared any of my work so please excuse me as I once again flex my literary writing muscles. The name of the story refers to an alias of one of the characters. I hope you have fun reading this chapter and it puts  
> I do not own any characters but my own nor do I profit from using them in my work.

_ Supreme Court of the Magical Congress of the United States of America _

Annalise Dautry sat in the front row of the American Wizengot, she had been placed there by the Aurors, only being moved when she sat on the witness stand. She had served as the key witness for the prosecution against Andrew Salisbury, a former high ranking Auror. Next to her sat her younger sister and they were flanked between Aurors and sprinkled throughout the crowded courtroom were even more. The trial had made international news and everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of both the defendant and the key witness. As the Details poured forth from Annalise's mouth it drew even more people, they crowded the courtroom and when it was filled to the brim they tried to crowd the halls till the bailiffs ushered them out of the building and yet still more details of the secret crimelord came forth. After being questioned for three days by the prosecution she was in turn badgered and forced to go back over all of the details by the defense. After five days on the witness stand, she was finally allowed to sit back down in the stands. Staring stoically ahead she could hear people murmuring around her as the jury was called to pass judgment.

'Can you believe her?'

'If what she says is true...'

'...slut...'

'...fifteen minutes...'

'Those poor girls, so alone.'

Before announcing the sentence the judge asked if the defendant had anything to say. Salisbury stood in the middle of the room, hands bond in front of him by magical bands and turned to glance back at Annalise before looking back up at the judges, "Friends, I did not commit the crimes I stand here accused of. They are the musings of a child who did not receive enough attention. She came to me and tried to seduce me and when I turned her down she accuses me of the most heinous crimes her little mind could come up with. Andrew and Celeste were some of my closest friends and even before I can begin to mourn their deaths I find myself accused of their murders by the people I want to help the most. All I ask of you is that you review the facts and not listen to the ramblings of a child." 

The Speaker of the Court stood to announce the verdict and sentence. "Bring forth the Defendant Andrew Salisbury. We the Wizengot, find the defendant, last name Salsbury, the first name Andrew, former Auror Magical Congress of the United States of America, for the charge of conspiracy to murder the Auror George Dautry, we find you guilty. For the Charge of the murder of Celeste Dautry, we find you guilty. For the crime of..."The list went on, there were twenty-five additional charges, " based on the irrefutable evidence and the testimony by the witnesses we feel you are a danger to yourself and society and as such we sentence you to life in prison.

As the gavel hit the podium Andrew Salsbury lunged out of the hold of his guards and towards Annalise. Before he was wrenched away from the young woman he whispered something into her ear. After that, he was dragged out of the room and the crowd dispersed till all that was left was the siblings, about twenty Aurors, and the judges. "Ms. Dautry we would like to thank you for your bravery in testifying ain this case. We realize that it was a trying experience for you and your sister." The judge paused and leaned forward to rub his eyes, "We have discussed the situation as you no longer have any family to take care of you, as well as the potential danger for a regular civilian to take responsibility and we have come to a consensus. Annalise as you are still an underage witch you are unable to provide a stable environment for your sister to grow up in, as such you both will be placed in protective custody. Because you also stand accused of crimes we will place a brand upon you that will track your movements and report them back to us. If you refuse to testify in future trials against Salisbury you will be remanded to prison. Please hold out your non-wand arm." He waved his wand and Annalise felt a burning sensation as a black feather appeared on the inside of her wrist. "Thank you again.." but before he could finish his speech about how sorry he was to impose these restrictions on her she whirled around and pushed past the doors followed closely by her sister and their protective detail. 

As they stepped through the front doors of Woolworth building they were swarmed by reporters from across the nation all shouting questions about the trial and such. She shoved her way through them ignoring the questions and the flashes as her picture was taken repeatedly, not caring what they thought about her anymore. Numerous people tried to grab her, trying to make her face them, trying to get her attention. She had barely stepped onto the sidewalk when a car pulled up in front of her halting her progress. Cleevly, one of the Aurors, took her elbow and escorted her into the car.

_ At the Hotel Suite: _

Annalise had just finished tucking in Jules into bed and was curled up on the couch with her pet when she heard a soft knocking on the door. Looking out the peephole she saw it was Cleevly accompanied by much younger man. She signaled for the animal to stay by the couch before opening the door. Cleevly stepped inside, pushing past her before she even opened her mouth to say hello. "Anna, this is Samuel Rookesbury, an Auror stationed in Great Britain. Our two countries have talked about it and we've formed a plan. I'll have Rookesbury explain it all. In the meantime, I'm going to make myself a cup of coffee." He made his way to the kitchen.

Anna sighed, "Can't this wait for tomorrow? it's been a long day and Jules just fell asleep." she said in a hushed voice moving to follow the Auror. Though not quite a whisper it was nowhere as loud as she had been speaking in the courtroom earlier that day.

"No, unfortunately, it cannot. Go talk to Rooksbury. You'll have plenty to discuss tonight." He motioned behind him towards the front door where the other man was standing, "I'll wait in here for you two to finish."

Hearing a growl behind her she glanced down at the dog that had come up next to her, "Hush Thorn, it'll be ok." she scratched him behind his ears as she focused on trying to calm down before turning to the man she had left standing in the entryway. 

Sam watched the interchange between his colleague and the young woman. He had heard rumors about her and seen her picture splashed across newspapers. She looked so much younger up close and personal. She had removed her makeup and braided her hair in a loose braid. None of the pictures had caught the uncertainness that seemed to swirl around her. While he waited for her to regain control he compared her now to what he had seen earlier. While she was talking to Cleevly she had used her hands to gesture while in the courtroom she had kept them folded loosely in front of her. During the trial, she had kept her hair in a bun at the base of her neck, nary a hair out of place and scraped back from her face. Now her mahogany-colored hair was in a loose braid and a couple of tendrils had worked themselves free to frame her face. Earlier she had been wearing a white turtle neck knit with elbow-length sleeves and a gray vest and pants. she was currently garbed in a loose sweater that had several holes and was threadbare in places. A pair of shorts peeked out under the bottom hem. He had not sat close enough to her to note the color of her eyes and all the pictures had been in black and white but they had still been captivating enough to cause him to volunteer for the upcoming assignment. He was surprised to find them a light brown, almost a copper color. He watched as she looked back at him over her shoulder. Unashamed to have been caught staring he shrugged, "You're not wearing glasses."

"No, I was trying to convince the judges that I was old enough to take care of my sister. As it failed I got rid of them. They were only for appearance sake anyway. So what's the plan? Are you moving me and my sister into a convent somewhere in the wilds of Scottland? Or perhaps just me. Someplace for me to repent endlessly for my sins."

"No, has that been suggested before?"

She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since he had entered the room. Samuel Rooksbury had just come into the room far enough to close the door behind him. He was tall, at least tall enough that she would only come up to his shoulder, but he didn't try to hide it as some were to do buy stooping his shoulders. Instead, he stood straight but relaxed, his hands in his jacket pockets. He wore a tan leather jacket that looked like it was worn often enough that it had started to mold itself to his body, and a pair of dark blue jeans. A grey t-shirt peeked out above the zipper pull. His dark blonde hair was streaked by the sun and was long enough to brush the top of his shirt collar. 

"Yeah, once or twice. If we are going to be talking for a while you may as well sit down," she said motioning toward the seating area. She sat down on the couch, the large dog laid down on the ground next to her, keeping an eye on Sam as he sat in an armchair across a coffee table from them. 

As Sam gathered his thoughts on how to explain the plan he looked at the pictures of two young girls being held by their parents. A much younger Annalise beamed up at him holding the hand of a younger girl, with raven black hair, who was looking not at the camera but instead gazed worshipfully at the Annalise in the picture. In another picture, both girls had flower crowns woven through their hair. 

"So what is the plan? If I'm not going to be forced into a convent, what is the plan?" Annalise finally said, breaking the silence. " Might as well tell me it all?

"We are to pretend to be engaged. We are to then all move into a MInistry safe house in London till they think it is safe."

"Well, that will be never." Sam glanced up at her catching her eye. Sighing she responded to the unspoken question, "If your Ministry is anything like the MACUSA, they will never think it's safe enough till they've wrung all the information out of me. And as that information is the only thing keeping what's left of my family safe, I'll never tell it all." Bitterness flowed through her words. Barely contained fury and fury at the situation caused her lips to raise in a sneer. But after a moment she gave herself a mental shake and smoothed her features. Looking him in the eye She gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, touchy subject. Please continue."

"Well, until our governments feel satisfied, I'll be responsible for both you and your sister. Do you have any questions or concerns so far?"

"Lots," she took a deep breath before rattling some off," Does it have to be a government safe house? Jules is tired of constantly moving and I want to be able to make a home for her when she comes home from school. How big are the plots of land in London? Thorn needs at least a couple acres to roam every day. Oh and speaking of school, Jules was just accepted into Illermory here in America, is there a Wizarding school near where we will be staying? I had planned to move Massachusets to be near her. I'll have to get her registered quickly if I don't want her to fall behind. Are we going to have change our names? I want to make sure to put the correct name on the registration form."

"Hogwarts is the best, we can register her there. I know the Headmistress and if we explain the situation there will be no reason for another name change." 

"Is Hogwarts located in London? It must have a lot of wards to keep the no-majs, from seeing it."

"Well it does have a lot of wards to keep the muggles away but it's actually in Scottland."

"Ok, can you tell me a little bit about it?"

"Hogwarts is located in a massive castle that any kid would love to explore. Professor McGonagall is the headmistress. She used to teach transfiguration and as a teacher, she was tough but fair. There are four houses and students are sorted by a Sorting Hat. There are ghosts in the ramparts and mermaids in the lake. Starting in third-year students are allowed to visit the nearby town of Hogsmead."

"What are the houses called?"

"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I was in Gryffindor. Each house emphasizes something different. Bravery, Loyalty, Intelligence, and ambition respectively. Going here she'll be able to make friends and have fun. She'll be able to have a normal life. As for the size of the yards in London...there is no way any safe house in the middle of London is going to have two-acre yards. We may just have to take your... dog? for a couple of walks a day."

"I don't know what Thorn is, I found him in the forest behind my house as a puppy. I think he’s mostly Irish Wolfhound. All that matters to me is that he wants to stay with me."

"You haven't asked me for anything for yourself. You asked questions about the school for your sister. And you asked for a house with a yard for Thorn, but what is it you want?"

"I gave up the right to want anything when I caught the eye of the equivalent of a wizarding mob boss. I watched him kill people. I slept with him. And in several situations, I lied to cover for him. The reasons I did this do not matter in the end, and I offer no excuses. It was only when my family was affected that I decided to testify against him. I managed to survive so far, which is a near miracle so all I want is for my sister to be safe and happy. It doesn’t seem like much to ask.” Anna looked at the clock. “I’m sorry but I have to wake up early in the morning to talk to my sister. We can talk more about this in the morning. Feel free to stay, the couch pulls out into a bed. Creevly already apparated home, so it’s all yours.”

“Did he, I didn't hear him go.”

“Goodnight Mr. Roosbury.”

“Sam, you should call me Sam.”

“Just one more question, what do you prefer to be called?”

“Anna, you can call me Anna.”


	2. Just Too Much To Ask For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna just wants to feel safe and for everyone to stop telling her what to do. Everybody has a plan for how her life should going to go...too bad nobody feels like listening to anything she has to say.

**The Next Morning**

Anna was laying in the bedroom listening to the voices flowing from the living room. At some point during the night, Remy had crawled into bed with her and curled up next to her. She could feel the subtle tugging on her pajama shirt as her sister shifted in her sleep as she woke up. 

“Why did the Ministry decide to send you out of all the Aurors they have at their disposal?” Creevly asked in his 

“My parents had recently signed an arranged marriage agreement with Anna’s. I don’t think Anna’s parents mentioned it to her though. I guess we have another long conversation ahead of us.”

“Have there been any more developments from the Ministry side?”

“Unfortunately the Ministry doesn’t trust her to behave herself so they’ve given an ultimatum.”

“Hmmm. That is unfortunate. What’s the ultimatum?”

“The Ministry feels that a closer eye should be kept on Annalise. There are two conditions before the girls can immigrate to the UK. The first is that Annalise and I make our engagement official and the second is that she starts working for the Ministry as an Auror. You’ve been the lead Auror assigned to protect them since before the trial started, what can you tell me about them?” The girls could hear the creak of someone leaning back into one of the chairs.

“George and Celeste Dautry were a Pureblood couple married for twenty years. They had two girls, Annalise Willow is the oldest at seventeen, Julianna Remy just turned eleven this summer. They were a happy family according to all reports. Though it was an arranged marriage both George and Celeste had grown to love each other. George worked as an Auror and Celeste lobbied to improve relations between the No-Maj world and the wizarding community. Their closest friend was Andrew Salisbury. George and Andrew were friends from school.

“Annalise tends to go by Anna unless there is a particularly important social engagement. Juliana prefers to always go by Remy and never responds to Julianna or Julie, previous attempts to convince her to respond by either has been met by silence.

“Nobody is quite sure when Salisbury started to abuse Anna. She refuses to tell anybody. It is believed to have started around the time she was 14 but it reached the most depraved state when she was fifteen. It was at this time she tried to remove herself from the situation and Salisbury retaliated. It is suspected that she would have died if her mother hadn’t shown up at Salisbury’s house unannounced. According to all reports when she found her daughter bleeding at the feet of one of her closest friends she was slow to react. Salisbury aimed a curse at Celeste and Anna tried to save her mother by Disapperating untrained. She didn't splinch either of them hower Salisbuy’s curse hit her mother and killed her. She was followed almost immediately by Salisbury.

“George went into shock when he saw his best friend dragging his daughter away from his wife’s body. Salisbury proceeded to kill his best friend and was moving his wand towards Remy when Anna slipped out of his grip and put herself between Salisbury and her sister. 

“She was given an ultimatum, either do everything he asked or Remy would die. So she did. She allowed herself to become a pawn to the underground crime lord known as The Raven. If you want more details you’re going to have to ask the girls for them yourself.”

“Anna, I’m tired of listening to them talk about us.” Anna didn’t try to stop her sister as she slid off the bed and walked to the door. When her sister looked back at her expectantly Anna sighed before grabbing a sweater and following suite. Neither man noticed when they opened the door.

Anna leaned on the door frame her sister stood next to her “Mr. Rooksbury, perhaps we could backtrack to the ultimatum are there only two stipulations? Remy and I are eager to find out what else we have to do to finally be safe. How shall we contort our personalities? Should I learn how to speak French or should Remy bow with the utmost obsequiousness to everyone she meets on the street? Shall I play the simpering idiot hanging on to every word you utter? When is enough, enough?” As they watch the men jump from the unexpected interruption, Remy had to stifle a small smile.

Remy liked Creevly. He had made sure to hold her hand when Anna was sitting on the stand to testify and he had defended her when the angry men demanded that she also testify. He had even brought her new paints when hers ran out. He had also let her pick out two new dresses from a catalog when he first started to take care of them.

Anna glanced at Creevly but seeing that he wasn't going to answer her she turned her attention back to Rooksbury. He either hadn’t taken the time or had the chance to style his hair this morning, and though it still brushed the top of his collar it looked as though he had brushed it out of his face using his fingers giving him a softer appearance then he had the previous night. His grey vest and tie were thrown over the back of the couch but he still had on his white button-down shirt. His slacks looked less than freshly pressed now that he was trying to brush off the tea he had spilled when she startled him. Overall he had a slightly rumpled air to him in the morning and despite the scowl, he had on his face it gave him a slightly more approachable air. He still looked like a prince that had just stepped off the page of a fairy tale to rescue the wayward princess, but she felt less like peasant begging for his attention. 

He looked up at her, “I don’t think your sister will have to bow to anyone, but if you would like to go ahead. And here I was thinking we were on a first-name basis.” It was then he realized he had made a misstep. During the night he had worked to convince himself that her eyes weren’t bronze, probably an uninteresting light brown. But no, no they were bronze and right at that moment with the sun slanting through the window slashed over her face. Her hair was starting to come out of her braid, to frame her face. Eyebrow cocked it looked like she was a queen looking down on him, even in a threadbare sweater and bare feet. 

Her expression last night had been so bland and devoid of emotion it had irritated him. He had felt the air sing with magic, but she had remained impassive and self-contained. They had been starting to talk about her future and she hadn’t seemed to care. Now there he could see the fire she had used to pull herself and her sister out of the worst situation he could imagine. He promised himself he would keep that fire in her eyes as much as possible. He cast a quick cleaning spell before standing to approach her. It was then that he noticed the small girl standing behind her. He had been so focused on Anna he had completely forgotten that Remy was there.

Her huge black eyes seemed to be laughing as she took in the situation around her as she peered out into the living room. She was wearing teal pajamas with little butterflies scattered on them. As he approached the laughter in her eyes disappeared she shifted behind her sister and grabbed her hand.

“The ultimatum please Mr. Rooksbury.” Anna could feel her sister shaking behind her as everyone stared at them. 

“You will have to work for the ministry as an Auror. As for the second, I don't know if you know this but our parents had signed an arranged marriage agreement for us to get married. It was to go through when you turned nineteen. The Ministry feels that if you and your sister are going to be moving to the UK it would be prudent for us to go through with it a little bit earlier.”

“How much earlier?” Sam hesitated in answering her, “How. Much. Earlier.” Anna repeated enunciating slowly, her eyes narrowing. A lamp on the other side of the room cracked.

“Tomorrow.”

“NO!”

“Remy….”

“You can’t do that! You can’t make her do that. ANNA YOU CAN’T! YOU PROMISED!” Remmy screamed a keening sound that pierced the ears and shook the soul.

The lamp shattered with a loud snap, but instead of falling to the ground or exploding outward they hung in the air for a few seconds before fitting back together and repairing the lamp. Then just as quickly as it arose the wayward magic retreated. “Remy, you need to calm down, just breathe with me. Come on just breathe with me.” Anna kneeled and wrapped her arms around her sister. “Just breathe with me, we’ll figure it out together.” When her sister calmed down she turned back to the men in the living room. “Did you know what your government had planned last night?”

“No, I received an owl this morning. I had no idea that they would make a demand like this when we were talking. I knew about the arranged marriage agreement, but I thought we would have time to discuss it later. I wasn’t coming in to take any of your choices away from you.”

“But now you have.” her shoulders sagged as though she was carrying a great weight. “Fine. I’ll agree if you promise to protect Remy to the best of your ability. Now if you’ll excuse me, we need to take Thorn for a walk.” Dragging her sister out of the room she whistled for the dog as she hit the front door. Thorn quietly padded out the door as Creevly call out to them.

“Be careful Anna. Standing up he looked at the young man. “Rooksbury if you don't mind me asking how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-five. Why? Does it matter?”

“Just noting the age difference. As I just told you, Anna is only seventeen, and it seems cruel to me that even now people are chipping away at her choices. And whether you mean to or not, you are doing just that. You could have been a little kinder when you told her.”

“She said yes of her own free will. She could have said no. And she can still decide how to live her life.” Sam said irritably, “I’m not the bad guy here.”

“You are to Anna and Remy. To them, you are just another person trying to fit them into a mold. An arranged marriage is not something I would have wanted for myself, much less for my children. And I knew George and his wife for years. I don’t remember them ever mentioning anything about an arranged marriage for Anna. Though it may not be uncommon for other families to make contracts such as these, it just seems out of character for my friends to do something like this.” Creevly started gathering up his paperwork

“They may have forgotten about it. The contract was signed over 16 years ago.”

Creevly paused to give him a pitying look. “I have to go gather all the paperwork for all this. Try not to blow up the hotel while I’m gone.”

As Sam was left in the hotel room by himself he decided to reply to a letter from his new partner at work. He had received a letter asking how it all was going and he wanted to get some advice. Harry would know how to deal with the situation with Anna. He might also be able to find out information about how far Anna had gotten in school before she had dropped out. If the outburst this morning was any indication one of the girls has a problem with accidental magic. If it was Remy then it wouldn’t be a problem, going to school would sort it out, however, if it was Anna, it would need to be taken care of before she completed the Auror training. One solution would be to go back to school, another would be to go to a therapist after the war there a slew of them popped up and even years later there was more than ever. Having listened to Creevly tell him as well as reading the Auror reports about some of the things that had happened, he was concerned not only for Anna but for Remy as well. There was also the letters he had to write to McGonagall and the Minister of Magic. If the Minister responded soon enough then perhaps the marriage could at least be put off for a while. 

Sensing someone else in the room he asked, “Do you know where I can send an owl from here?”

“I’ll tell you if you let me go with you.” He looked up startled at the chair facing his own. There sat Anna, her sister taking a nap on the couch between them. Anna was still wearing the same sweater, but she now had jeans on as well. “There are plenty of Aurors to protect Remy if that's what you are concerned about.” Anna got up to nudge her sister, “Hey Remy, I’m gonna head out for a bit. I’m taking Thorn with me so don’t worry.” 

“I don’t think...”

“Well, are we going or not?” Anna said interrupting him. She walked to the door, her dog trailing behind her. Holding up his letters she glanced at him smirking over her shoulder, “or I can go by myself.”

Scrambling after her he caught up to her just as she slipped through the door to the staircase. “You don’t want to use the elevator? We’re on the fifth floor.”

“It’s too easy to kill someone when they are stuck in an elevator,” glancing behind her as she glided down the staircase with quick steps to smile at him, “Besides we’re almost to the ground floor now.”

Recalling the earlier conversation and wanting to make amends Sam chuckled as he asked, “Est-ce que tu parles français?”*

“Juste assez pour m'attirer des ennuis*. But then again that’s all I do, isn’t it? Get me into trouble” holding the door open Anna paused in the doorway to attach a leash to Thorn’s collar. “What about you?”

“Not really, but I have a friend who speaks it fluently. He’s always saying that the rest of us should learn. Do you speak any other languages?”

“A couple, mostly the romantic languages because they are so closely related.”

“Where did you learn?”

“Oh here and there.” her eyes narrowed as they stepped outside, though Sam was unsure if it was due to the bright desert sun or due to the topic of conversation. “Andrew liked to take me with him on trips. It helped him keep an eye on me and it seemed like a good idea for me to learn at least the basics of the native languages if I had to make multiple trips. Also the customs. What is normal here in America could be considered rude in others.” She shrugged as she continued. “The length and depth of a bow in matter in Japan and though sayonara does mean goodbye, it carries an amount of finality to it so you wouldn’t say it to someone you’re gonna see the next day. I also didn’t like the abaya or hijab in Saudi Arabia, but I only had to go there once so I don’t know how to say much in Arabic.”

As they talked they passed through crowds of no-majs. Several young children ran up to pet Thorn, their parents trying to corral them. “He’s so big. Can they pet him?”

“As long as he doesn’t mind, I have no problem with it.”

With a polite smile, the woman looked back at her kids when one of them popped up with a question, “What is he?”

Crouching down to their level she whispered conspiratorially to the kids, “Well, if you ask him he’d tell you that he’s the King of the Woods and the Leader of the Pack, and as far as I know he could be telling the truth. Thorn takes himself very seriously.” Anna nodded solemnly as Thorn licked the child’s face, tickling her in the process.

“Dogs don’t talk. I hate how adults lie to kids.” the boy said with great authority as he ran his hands over the dog’s fur. 

Quirking and eyebrow Anna responded, “Don’t they?” Gesturing towards the dog she continued, “It might just be a different language than you are used to. His wagging tail tells me that he likes the attention he’s getting right now. The tilt of his head means he wants someone to scratch him behind his right ear. And the way he is straining on the leash now means he’s done.”

Blinking the boy glared at her. “You made all the stuff about him thinking he's a king up.”

“Have you asked him?”

Groaning the boy turned to Thorn and asked in a mocking tone, “Are you the king of the forest?” Just as he was turning back to Anna Thorn brought his face next to the boys and when he opened his mouth it sounded like he said yes even to Sam’s ears. 

Anna stood up and Thorn disengaged from the stunned children. Turning to the parents Anna smiled as she walked away with Sam trailing beside her. As they walked away they heard the kids demanding an explanation from their parents. About half a block Sam couldn’t hold back his laughter and more. “Merlin Anna, how did you do that?” he gasped.

Smiling sweetly she replied, “Magic Sam. Don’t you know I’m a witch.” This made just made Sam laugh harder so they had to pause while he regained control, but just as he stopped laughing he would look at Anna and start up all over again. “Come on Sam it wasn’t even that funny.” 

“Did you see their faces? He’s never going to forget the day a dog talked back.”

“He was far too grounded in reality.” pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes, “He’s going to try to get every animal he sees today to talk to him. Well come on, we’re almost there. Just around the corner.” Turning a corner she pointed to a door between a Cold Stone and an Mexican restaurant called Mi Amigo’s Mexican Grill marked authorized personnel only and handed him the parchments. “It’s just through there. When you get to the fountain look to your left. And tell Miguel to send Thanos out. He’ll find m…”

“What do you mean? You have to come with me. I’m in charge of keeping you safe. It’s bad enough that you came out with me to send these letters.”

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been hated by a large group of people, but I’m not exactly welcome in the wizarding world in America.”

“It doesn’t matter if everyone there hates you, I’ll keep you safe. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Rolling her eyes, “Don’t ask me that, I have a good imagination. Besides I’m not worried about me al-amir alsahra, I’m more worried about what they’ll do to you. But whatever, today is just as good a day to die any other.” Grasping the handle she wrenched open the door and disappeared through it.

“Hey what did you just call me?” But when he walked through the door he came face to face with why Anna had been so reluctant to continue. 

It looked to be much like the Leaky Cauldron in London, but instead of being met with a friendly atmosphere all the patrons turned to glare at them as they walked into the room. The silence that rang heavy through the room was broken by a chair slamming into the ground as a large man stepped into their path.

Shoving his finger into Anna’s face he started to spew obscenities at her. Sam tried to grab her arm to pull him behind him to shield her if need be, but she just shrugged his hand off her. Shaking her head, she waited for the man to take a breath before speaking in an even tone, “Are you done, or do you want to call me even more names. I’m on a time crunch, but I’d be happy to set aside to discuss your characterization of me and my companion. Perhaps at a later date so you’ll have time to think of something other than bitch and slut. I can give you suggestions if you’d like. Such as harlot, hussy, tart, floozy, tramp, vamp, wench or even whore. Oh here’s a good one, termagant. I hope this was helpful, now if you’d please get out of my way I’d appreciate it.” All through her short speech, the only other sound in the restaurant was the sound of heavy breathing.

The much larger man took a step closer when a low growl emanated from Thorn. The previously playful dog had placed himself between the two people, hackles raised, thus keeping the man away from Anna. When the man took another step towards them Thorn sprang forward, knocking the man to the ground. “Thorn Hold.” the simple command was uttered as all the wands in the room suddenly flew towards Anna, landing in a pile by her feet. “There seems to be a misunderstanding, I’m not here to be attacked or harassed. I’m just trying to take this Auror to the owlery. We’ll be out of your hair in just a few seconds. As for your wands...you can have them back after we leave.” Striding forward, the end of the leash coiled around her wrist as she passed by, Thorn let out another low growl dispelling anyone else of the notion of further impeding their progress through the room.

Walking at an unhurried pace Anna made it to the other side of the room without getting into anybody else confronting her. Tapping out a rhythm against the opposite wall she turned to Sam, “Coming al-sahereh?”, startling Sam out of his revery.

“What do you keep calling me?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Stepping through the newly opened portal they stepped into the wizarding world. A breeze of magically cooled air ruffled their hair as the wall closed behind them. “Welcome to Asilio. The overhead glass dome keeps the worst of the heat out, the rest is controlled by magic so the temperature in here only fluctuates between 60 degrees in the winter and 80 in the summer.” Glancing at his agog expression, “Sorry that's in Fahrenheit. In celsius that's 15 degrees to 26 degrees ...I think. Down the South road is the more residential area, the North end leads to the bank and shops you’d buy supplies from. In this central area, we have the owlery and restaurants. I used to love coming here with my pare ...” 

They stood at what appeared to be a point of a lazy sort of triangle it was more of a widening of the street than anything else. In the center was a fountain that randomly sprayed colored mist over the area. As the mist settled over the crowd the air seemed to mix the colors only for them to dissipate before the next shower settled over the street. Shops and restaurants lined the walls. And though nothing as dramatic as in the restaurant happened the duo still received hostile glances as they made their way towards their destination. 

“What did you do to piss so many people off?”

Anna just shrugged and smiled, “It’s a gift. Almost there.” She pointed to a building with a thatched roof, owls flying in and out through the open windows. 

**The Owlery**

As they entered the building a large black bird swooped down landing on Anna’s shoulder. Cawing loudly, he ruffled his feathers and started rubbing its beak on the top of her head. “This is Thanos. Say hi, Thanos” Thanos looked at Sam and stuck out his neck before uttering a quiet “Hi” and returning to plucking at Anna’s hair. “Good bird”

“Do all your pets talk?”

“Well technically, I was just throwing my voice earlier and Thanos is just mimicking me. It’s quite common in the Corvus family. They’re smart birds.” She smiled sadly as she rubbed the top of Tanos’ head. “Ah but you need to send some mail. Thanos can’t fly that far without a break so he’ll be coming with us. But maybe the floo box is available. It’s expensive but you said you need a quick answer. And I have a few dragots that won’t be much use in England.” she pointed at what looked like a fireplace in miniature. It stood on the mantle of a full-size brick fireplace. Even as they watched a which stepped out of the fireplace and to the side before dusting the soot off her clothes. A large barn owl silently set down in front of her and gave a soft hoot. 

“How does it work?” Sam looked at the floo box perplexedly. Anna shrugged again. 

“You should ask him. I’m gonna take Thanos outside so he can fly around for a bit before we head back to the hotel. Take your time.” Shoving a bag into his hands she started back towards the door when Sam grasped her wrist. Sam opened his mouth to protest but she continued before he got any word out, “And don’t worry if I need help …. you’ll be the first to know.”

“No princess. This won’t take long, you’re not going anywhere I can’t see you until we get back to the hotel.” 

Anna tugged at her arm when he didn’t let go she narrowed her eyes, “Let go of my arm”

“Do you promise to stay here till I’m done?”

“No. I just said I'm going outside.”

“Then no. You don’t have to be happy about it, but you are staying with me. It may not have occurred to you, but some of those people don’t like you. They want to hurt you.”

“That’s why I have Thorn. And they’re just scared. I’ll stay within sight of the door and if I need help I promise to scream.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Has it been so long since someone told you no that you’ve forgotten what it means, Princess?”

As he watched cold seeped into her eyes, “I’m going to give you to the count of three to let me go. One.”

“Anna this is to keep you…”

“Two”

“...safe. And I don’t thi…”

“Three.” Just as she reached three, the palm of Sam’s palm started to burn, with a choking sound he wrenched his hand away. Looking down at his hand he felt a gentle cooling sensation as the blisters that had suddenly appeared disappeared. “Thank you, now I  _ promise _ to stay in the building. Oh quick question, ¿Hablas español?”

“Huh...”

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you later.” She weaved her way through the perches toward the old man at the counter. The man was barrel-chested with thick arms and had a nose that had been broken at one point, but not healed properly. His eyes twinkled merrily as the young woman walked around the counter.

Opening his arms wide, he smiled as she went to him, “Hola Preciosa.”

“¿Cómo está, Miguel?”

“Maravilloso mi amiga, ¿y tu?”

“Lo estoy haciendo mucho mejor, el monstruo está en prisión ahora y me voy a mudar.”

Miguel gently took Anna’s hand and kissed her palm. “Desearía poder preguntar a dónde te mudas pero preferiría que estuvieras a salvo de lo que me dices demasiado.”

"No puedo agradecerte lo suficiente por todo lo que has hecho por nosotros."

"No hay nada que me agradezca por que nadie debería vivir con miedo así. Especialmente no niños, pero si insistes en agradecerme, asegúrate de vivir una vida feliz.” Glancing behind her at Sam who had not taken his eyes off her, “Tu joven te vigila de cerca. Creo que le gustas.”

“He doesn’t. Besides no me gusta.”

At that Miguel let out a hearty laugh before lightly pinching her cheek. “You’ll figure it out, Anna. Try not to be too hard on yourself.”

“Miguel I don’t even know what that means. I’m never hard on myself.” She laughed a sad laugh and gave her friend one last sad smile before giving her friend another hug. “I’m going to miss you.”

“When it is safe you bring your sister to my house and I’ll make you dinner. You can even bring your young man if you want. He doesn’t look like he scares easily. Ah and here he comes.” He gestured for Sam to come closer. “Young man, I’m trusting you to take care of young Anna... Don’t interrupt me young lady...I’m trusting you to take care of Anna because she’s going to be so busy taking care of everyone else that she’s going to forget to stop and eat, or that it’s ok to take a break. The world doesn’t fall apart when you sit down long enough to eat. NOw young man Pajero says you just received a reply to one of your letters.”

Handing the letter to Anna, “It's from Hogwarts for Remy. Who’s Pagero?”

Gesturing to a perch high above their heads, “Pajero is my familiar, he’d be down here to say hi, but he doesn’t like Anna’s familiar, something about not wanting to be eaten.” Miguel said chuckling.

Sam turned to stare at Anna, she simply raised an eyebrow, “It’s Thorn. It amuses Miguel to no end. Just an inside joke. You’d have to be there to understand.” Turning back to Miguel, “I’m sorry but we do have to go now. If Sam receives any more mail please hold it till Thanos returns. He’ll be back and forth till we leave.”

"Adiós, querida. Mantente a salvo. y no olvides de lo que hablamos." 

Nodding at the old man she kissed both his cheeks then turned and walked out the door without looking back. The walk back to the hotel went by quickly. Nobody stopped them and soon they came back to the staircase. When they got to the room Creevly was sitting on the couch, paperwork spread out on the table, Remy sat next to him, but when Sam entered the room she quickly went into the bedroom Anna right behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam asks Anna if she speaks French and she responds that she only knows enough to get into trouble.  
> Anna keeps calling Sam Prince Charming in Arabic because he's treating her like a damsel in distress.  
> In the conversation with Miguel, Anna tells him that she is doing well and is going to be moving soon. She doesn't tell him where she is moving, but he's happy to know the sisters will finally be safe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this work. I have the second chapter ready to go through the editing process. Next chapter we will be heading over to Hogsmead and then we may even meet some of our favorite characters. Please let me know how you like it and if you have any questions or comments please share them. Thank you again and I hope you have a good day.


End file.
